City of Towers_ The Dreaming Dark - Keith Baker [81]
Moresco used his knife to carve tiny handholds into the stilt, then passed the knife down to Jode. “Hold on!” he called.
It was a dizzying way to travel, but a surprisingly swift one. Initially, Jode feared they would be noticed and caught, but apparently the halflings were light enough so as not to throw the stiltwalker off-balance—that or some magic in the stilts prevented disruption. As for the crowds, most were too busy watching the show in the sky to look at the halflings down near the earth. Those few who noticed simply pointed and laughed.
Minutes passed. Jode’s arms felt as if they were on fire, and his stomach rose in his throat with every sweeping stride. Faces blurred and swarmed around him, and the dizzying music of the pipes flowed through his mind, drowning out the murmur and roar of the crowds. At long last the stone hippogriffs flanking the garrison gate came into view.
As they swept by the gates, the two halflings leaped off of the stilts. The guards were keeping the area before the gates clear of crowds, and the two tumbled across the cobblestones and came to a stop at the foot of a puzzled officer of the Watch. Jode stood and brushed himself off. His knee ached, and he foresaw many bruises in his future.
“Tanda!” cried Moresco. “Let us fetch your many treasures, then find a suitable hole to celebrate our adventure.”
But as he had expected, Jode saw an avaricious gleam in the eyes of the cutpurse. He had no doubt as to what sort of welcome would await him in the suitable hole—or what Moresco would have done if he’d known that Jode was carrying a purse full of gold. He reached into the folds of his clothing and slipped a few golden galifars out of the hidden purse.
“I’m afraid my treasures are lost forever, and this is the end of our journeys together, orasca.” He tossed the coins at Moresco. Surprised as he was, the rogue deftly caught the glittering gold. “I suggest you be on your way, before I tell these good guardsmen about the work you’ve been doing of late.”
Moresco glared at him, but he had more gold than when the journey began. After a moment he spit on the back of a finger and flung the spittle at Jode, then disappeared into the crowd.
Jode watched him go, and then turned back to the guard at the gate.
“I need to speak with Captain Grazen,” he said.
Daine considered the odds. The lift itself was a broad disk surrounded by a low metal rail. Two of the halberdiers were blocking the gateway, while the other two were moving to either side. He cursed himself for not considering this possibility. The dwarf had been patrolling in the area of the Den’iyas lift the other day, and it was probably his regular beat.
Daine caught Lei’s eye and cast a glance over his shoulder. They backed up to the railing. At least they couldn’t be surrounded that way.
“Lorrak, right?” said Daine. “You’re looking … alive.”
The dwarf grinned, which wasn’t a pleasant sight. “That’s one thing we have in common.” He was carrying a cudgel of heavy bronzewood, and he tapped it against the palm of his left hand. “But I think it looks better on me.”
Lei rolled her eyes. “Sergeant. You don’t like Cyrans. That’s fine. But you’re an officer of the law. Am I actually supposed to believe that you’re going to push me off of a lift? Arrah’s blade, if that’s part of your job, what do you do to get a promotion?”
If Lorrak was affected by the speech, he hid it well. We need Jode, Daine thought. If Jode were here, he’d already have convinced the sergeant to buy us a meal.
“My duty is to protect the people of Sharn,” Lorrak said. “The oath doesn’t say anything about Mourner scum. There’s too many of you here already, and it’s common knowledge that half of you are mad. If I told people you jumped off the edge, they’d probably believe me. Now, you hurt me …? That’s another story. Killing a guardsman is bad enough, but a Mourner killing an officer? If you were